Clean Slates

by Blind Gardener

Chapter: 1 No means no

Sunset Sapphire shut the sack of silver slowly. She glanced at the predatory pair of parents, remembering a parable. The shark's smile is quite sharp, and it shows them pearly white. She looked back down at the sack. It was quite a lot of money.

To her credit, it did not take her long to make her decision. She banged the bag back on the bench while shaking her head vehemently. Her magic wobbling wildly.

"I won't do it." she shakily stated directly into their accusatory eyes "Not for this amount. Not for any amount."

They glanced aside at one another, then turned imploringly back to her. The husband loosened his lips to lie. She cut him off.

"NO! No means no!" She stomped her hooves in a way she felt made her look dramatic. In truth, it made her look like a petulant child.

A defeated look flashed across the stallion's face, but the wife clearly was not ready to give up yet. She inflated with a deep breath in order to let loose some airy persiflage. Little miss Sapphire cut her off too.

"I will not foalsit for your broken beast." She slammed her hooves down once more.

The wife's face quickly darkened as though crossed by her own personal thundercloud, and the husband's became as stoically dispassionate as a granite wall. Sunset failed to notice the sparks flashing between their horns.

Rather than take the hint, Miss Sapphire continued on, her voice raising in pitch and hysteria as she hit her stride. "That major menace is a danger to herself. She is a danger to others. She is not cute. She is not normal. If she ever gets a cutie mark, it will probably signal the end of the world! She needs to be locked away from society somewhere suitable to helping her special needs! Preferably somewhere far, far away where they keep creepy creatures, like her, chained!"

Sunset finally noticed frightful look being given to her by the wife, and the studied indifference of the husband that heartily hinted 'if my wife tries to murder you, I will not stop her, and will tell the authorities that I saw nothing.'

She glanced around for witnesses, but her little show had driven away the throng, not drawn it. With a hard swallow, she pirouetted on her hooves and scrambled as fast as she could to get away from the raging duo.

---

The two parents stared after Sunset Sapphire, Nightlight looking glum, and Twilight Velvet seething. After a few moments frozen in tableau Nightlight reached over and gently touched a hoof to his wife's back. A flash of static leapt from her body into his hoof, causing him to pull back involuntarily. He cautiously reached forwards again and began to rub the rock hard muscles locking his wife's flanks solid.

"Well," Nightlight said with a sedate click of his tongue. "That didn't work."

Twilight Velvet hoofed him hard in the flank, earning her a reprimanding glare. She glared back defiantly, before deflating. She sucked at her teeth "Sorry."

"Apology accepted." Nightlight said comfortingly. He gave her a gentle touch on the shoulder. She toppled weakly against him.

"Walk me home dear." Velvet sighed, affectionatly nibbling at her husband's neck.

"Anything my little Velvet Pie, but I am not a deer." Nightlight remarked smartly, while tapping his chest athoratativly.

"I know you're trying to cheer me up with that little joke, but I am not in the mood. It made me more upset." Velvet responded, ears as flat as her voice.

"Sorry." Nightlight whickered, nibbling his wife apologetically behind the ears.

"Apology accepted." Velvet graciously granted, letting her ears and body relax.

Author's Note:

Written in NotePad, originally.

Sunset Sapphire is a pinkish-orange unicorn. Her cutie mark is a set of dominoes.

Sunset Shores is a pinkish orange earth pony. Her cutie mark is a bamboo umbrella.

Sunset Showers is a pinkish orange Pegasus. Her cutie mark is the pink Floyd 'dark-side' album cover, but with a raindrop instead of a prism.

I should not write author's notes.

Comments

[blazeofheat]

Hmm what incidents lead to Sunset Sapphire being so scared of Twilight? Did she conduct experiments on relativity near Sapphire?

[Blind Gardener]

5784544

What I'm imagining is a sorta cross between "The Omen" and various horror things with some of the real difficulties of raising a mentally disabled child. You'll see some of them soon, I think.